The “Internet of Things,” or “IoT,” refers to a global network in which the nodes are not necessarily stand-alone workstations but rather, appliances and small embedded systems that have been provided with wireless connectivity. These appliances are collectively referred to as “IoT devices.”
The IoT contemplates a world in which IoT devices talk to each other, exchanging data in real time. To some extent, the value of the IoT device will depend on how many other IoT devices it can communicate with.
Inter-IoT-device communication is hindered, however, by the fact that each IoT device manufacturer will implement its IoT devices in its own way. IoT devices may therefore be unable to communicate with each other because of different protocols, data structures and the like. Thus, interoperability between IoT devices is difficult.
In addition, because of the sheer number of different manufacturers, it may be difficult for an IoT device manufacturer to find other IoT devices that would add value to its own IoT devices if interoperability could be established.
The conventional approach that IoT device-makers follows to enlarge the number of different IoT devices their IoT devices can interoperate with is a laborious procedure. Typically, a second IoT device-maker comes to the attention of a first company. This meeting relies to a great extent on serendipity. The two IoT device-makers then reach an agreement concerning whether or not to partner at all. If they do, then the technical work begins. Suitable software must be written to enable interoperability of the two IoT devices. This software must then be tested and debugged. The entire process can take many man-months. And the net result of all this time is that interoperability has been enlarged by one IoT device.
While this procedure may be adequate in an industry in which only a few devices are required to interoperate, this is not the case with the IoT. In the IoT, it is important to achieve interoperability among as many IoT devices as possible.